Thursday, May 20, 2010

Making paper flowers

Recently at the monthly SU workshop, Valerie showed us how to make these paper flowers from coffee filters. Of course, during class they are much easier and then when you get home and decide to do them again 3 days later it is so different. This is my version.

Start with 3 or 4 coffee filters, dye reinkers, water in a spritz bottle, a paper piercer with a cork and rubber gloves.

I squeezed a few drops of 'Cherry' Marvy Reinker and 'Yellow' Marvy Reinker onto one of the filters laying on top of the waxed paper. I spritzed with water and placed another filter on top. Smoosh around with your gloved hand and add another filter, same thing. I then turned the stack over and added a filter to what is now the top, spritzed and smooshed. Some of the edges didn't have ink but that's ok, you will use the parts that you want.

I then dried the filters some and folded them in half.

She placed the 1 or 2 filters into a folded piece of paper-for ease of punching- and punched. I don't have a flower punch so at this point I just folded the filters and cut with scissors-a flowerish shape-actually it was an oval with some irregular scallops.

I stacked up the 'petals' and placed them onto the paper piercer, maybe 8 petals and added the cork to the end, this keeps the pieces from coming off while heating. Pull up 2 or 3 petals and scrunch a bit and dry with heat tool. Pull up a couple more layers and scrunch and dry. Do this until all are dry and scrunched.

Scrunch up until you are happy with it and then remove it from the piercer and insert a brad into the center to hold it all together. That's it. Mine is kind of large as I cut it freehand. You can make them any size and with any number of layers. Give it a try. Here is the finished flower, first with the petals more opened and then more scrunched.

I like these better I don't like FLAT flowers and would rather mail my card with raised layered flower in a tiny box, figure I haven't spent that much on the card, ha ha ha ha, that I can afford the tiny box. Just mailed one today to a GW RAK wish I could be a mouse in the corner when she opens the box and sees the beautiful tiny card with big multi layered flower. what fun